FTP's 2008 Minnesota State Boys Hockey Tournament - Class A Predictions

Predictions:

I am only predicting one round at a time.

Quarterfinals:

Game 1: Duluth Marshall (23-5-0) vs. Mankato West (25-2-0)

Section 7A (Northeast Minnesota) vs. Section 1A (Southeast Minnesota)

No 2007-2008 common opponents

Key Players:

Duluth Marshall: David Hafferty (Sr.), Zach Mausolf (Jr.), Pat Mahoney (Jr.), Dano Jacques (Sr.), Matt Messina (Jr.), Willie Paul (Jr.)

Mankato West: Ricky Litchfield (Sr.), Corey Leivermann (Sr.), Ryan Anderson (Sr.), Tyler Bruggeman (Jr.)

I was hoping these two teams would be in separate brackets with the chance of meeting in the championship game. Instead, we have an intriguing match-up between the highest scoring offense of the final eight and the team that allows the least goals.

Duluth Marshall fell short of a Class A crown last year losing to their Duluth area rivals, Hermantown, in the championship game, 4-1. Hermantown is not there this year and the Hilltoppers look ready to bring a championship trophy back to Duluth.

The surprising Scarlets of Mankato West will be no easy task. Receiving no R-E-S-P-E-C-T at the beginning of the season, they have shown that they not only can score but can also keep opponent pucks out of the net. This first game of the tournament should be dog fight and will most likely be the best game of the day.

Duluth Marshall 4.89 gpg | 1.64 gaa
Mankato West 7.26 gpg | 1.81 gaa

FTP prediction: Duluth Marshall 4, Mankato West 2
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Game 2: Warroad (22-6-0) vs. Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (12-14-2)

Section 8A (Northwest Minnesota) vs. Section 3A (South/West Minnesota)

Three common 2007-2008 opponents:

vs. St. Cloud Cathedral

Warroad won 3-1
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato lost 2-7

vs. Orono

Warroad won 3-2 in OT
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato lost 0-8

vs. Mound-Westonka

Warroad lost 1-3
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato won 4-2

Key Players:

Warroad: Bryce Ravndalen (Sr.), Dane Shaugabay (Jr.), Jeremy Hahn (Sr.), Jared Paquin (Sr.)
Litchfield/D-C: John Barrick (Sr.), Jordan Lechner (Sr.), Alex Sundin (Sr.), Lucas Johnson (Sr.)

Congratulations to the Dragons for making the state tournament for the second time ever. The first and only other appearance was in 1996. 11 bus loads of area fans are making the journey to cheer you on. Prepare to be introduced to the legendary Warroad Warriors.

The only intriguing part of this match-up was that Warroad lost to Mound-Westonka early in the season and Litchfield defeated Mound-Westonka late in the season. I am not sure what happened to Mound-Westonka but they certainly were not the team they were the first half of the season. Litchfield/D-C would have to muster up the upset of the century to beat the Warriors.

Warroad 4.29 gpg | 1.96 gaa
Litchfield/D-C 3.52 gpg | 3.63 gaa

FTP Prediction: Warroad 8, Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 1
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Game 3: St. Thomas Academy (22-5-0) vs. Little Falls (25-3-0)

Section 4A (East Twin Cities Metro Area) vs. Section 6A (West/Central Minnesota)

One common 2007-2008 opponent:

vs. Rochester Lourdes:

St. Thomas Academy won 9-3
Little Falls won 3-2

Key Players:

St. Thomas Academy: Ryan Walters (So.), James Saintey (Sr.), Conor Rooney (Sr.), Rob Vannelli (Sr.), Kurt Altrichter (So.)
Little Falls: Beau Hanowski (Sr.), Ben Hanowski (Jr.), Izaak Berglund (Jr.), Michael Sperl (Jr.)

Here is another tough first round match-up. There are six really good teams in this year's tournament and, unfortunately, four teams have to have the tougher first round game. The Cadets looked like they were going to be unbeatable at the start of the season but found out that they were not invincible just four games in when they lost to Breck, 6-5. They did not lose another Class A contest until they were smoked at home by Duluth Marshall. Somehow, the coaches that made the tournament decided that St. Thomas Academy, not Duluth Marshall, was the number one seed for the state tournament. The Cadets are definitely willing and able to take the Class A crown but the pressure is on them as the top seed having to get through a high-flying, high-scoring Little Falls Flyers team and then, if they survive that test, most likely a defensive minded St. Cloud Cathedral team. St. Thomas Academy finished third in the 2007 tournament.

Little Falls made it to the show in 2007 but could not manage a win when they got there. Now, they are focused and determined to not allow that to happen again. The Hanowski brothers have had a phenomenal year and they should have a great tournament.

I really wish this match-up would have been in the semifinals but it will be fun game to watch and should provide a lot of scoring.

St. Thomas Academy 6.26 gpg | 2.07 gaa
Little Falls 6.43 gpg | 2.33 gaa

FTP Prediction: St. Thomas Academy 6, Little Falls 4
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Game 4: St. Cloud Cathedral (22-5-1) vs. Blake School (19-8-1)

Section 5A (North/Central Minnesota) vs. Section 2A: (West Twin Cities Metro)

Common 2007-2008 opponents:

vs. Delano/Rockford

St. Cloud Cathedral lost 2-3 in OT
St. Cloud Cathedral won 4-1
Blake School won 4-3 in OT

vs. Rochester Lourdes

St. Cloud Cathedral won 3-2
Blake School lost 5-9

vs. Orono

St. Cloud Cathedral won 4-0
St. Cloud Cathedral won 2-0
Blake School won 6-3

Key Players:

St. Cloud Cathedral: Stephen Rindelaub (Sr.), Nick Maiers (So.), Sam Lommel (Sr.), Joe Nessler (Jr.)
Blake School: Joshua Birkholz (Jr.), Nick Brunette (Jr.), Blake Doerring (Jr.), Peter Johnson (Sr.)

The Blake School, like Little Falls, participated in the 2007 Class A State Tournament but they could not collect a win. The Bears were off the rankings radar most of the year as they were inconsistent starting the season 6-6-1. They finished strong winning 10 of their last 12 and then winning three more in the Section 2A playoffs. It could be argued that the wins came at the expense against teams of a weak Tri-Metro conference. For the Section 2A Championship, the Bears defeated Tri-Metro rival Breck, 5-2.

St. Cloud Cathedral has been a team that has been quite consistent throughout the '07-'08 season. However, they did lose two out of three at the end of the regular season including a shutout loss to Duluth Marshall, 2-0. They have also lost to state tournament participant Warroad 3-1. The Crusaders are a strong defensive team but scoring has been a question mark at times. I do not expect that their first round game with Blake will be a high scoring affair. I do think that the Crusaders will need to hold Blake to three goals or under in order to win because I don't know if Cathedral will be able score more than three goals themselves.

St. Cloud Cathedral 4.25 gpg | 1.71 gaa
Blake School 4.04 gpg | 2.82 gaa

FTP Prediction: St. Cloud Cathedral 4, Blake School 1